BURY failed to land their intended targets on deadline day but David Flitcroft says he refused to panic buy and repeat mistakes of the past.

The Shakers manager is confident he has laid the groundwork to seal the signings he wants once the loan window reopens next week.

And while he accepts the restrictions imposed on transfers made after deadline day means he can no longer tie up long-term deals, Flitcroft was adamant he would not be rushed into signings the club might later regret.

“You can only do a 28-day loan, a 33-day loan or a 90-day loan now, so it leaves you about a month short of going to January,” he said.

“But I look at last season when we got beat by Shrewsbury – at times there was a panic and a real urgency to try to get people in.

“Sometimes you can get the wrong people in, so we are just going to take our time a little bit and make sure we do our work and bring the right people to the squad.”

Flitcroft has made no secret of his wish to bolster his defensive options after going into the season with no senior cover for centre-backs Nathan Cameron and Peter Clarke.

Youth prospect Matty Foulds made his first start in the heart of the defence in Tuesday night’s 2-1 win at Accrington in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

But while the manager is excited about his development as a potential first-team regular, he is confident of adding further to his squad, despite problems sealing deals.

“It’s been busy,” he said, after Tuesday’s 6pm transfer deadline.

“The last two or three days we have been following up a lot of leads.

“Teams at the minute are just stock-piling players.

“With the financial fair play I don’t think squads are as big as what they used to be so there’s probably not that surplus.

“So it’s been difficult and we’ve not been able to get anything over the line.

“We were looking at loan deals and there was the potential of a permanent (transfer) that just didn’t come off.

“We have been working on them for a few weeks and everyone has been holding off.

“You don’t just suddenly pick up the phone on deadline day and start wheeling and dealing.

“We have been speaking with contacts, going through all the different players we could possibly get.

“There has been no movement, but we think we have just done enough work for something to maybe free up when the window reopens, so there is no drama.”

Flitcroft confirmed that former Bolton, Barnsley and West Ham forward Ricardo Vaz Te was still training with the club with the view to a possible free transfer when he regains full fitness.

He also said top striker Leon Clarke was continuing his recovery from a hamstring strain, but remains a doubt for Saturday’s trip to second-placed Walsall, while they are waiting for the results of a scan on midfielder Kelvin Etuhu’s injured foot.